Precursor Powerhouse

In 1999, researchers at one of Air Liquide’s customer companies approached the French industrial gases giant for help with a problem: They needed a nonchlorinated alternative to dichlorosilane, a precursor used to deposit silicon nitride films during semiconductor manufacturing.

What started as an effort to answer that simple request is now a major business for Air Liquide. The company’s 10-year-old advanced precursor unit has millions of dollars in annual sales and, until this . . .